The Alberta Utilities Commission has rejected a proposal to construct a natural gas facility in Olds, Alberta, intended to support a large data center complex. Synapse Real Estate Corp. had envisioned a campus consisting of 10 buildings with power generation capacity of 1.4 gigawatts, sufficient to supply the energy needs of the City of Edmonton.
Numerous residents in the predominantly agricultural region north of Calgary strongly opposed the project due to its proximity to residential areas and businesses within the town limits. The commission’s decision highlighted concerns about the project’s close proximity to the community and criticized Synapse for not adequately justifying the chosen location.
While the Alberta government has been actively encouraging tech companies to establish operations in the province, it is emphasizing projects that can provide self-sustained power for their data centers to prevent strain on the existing grid infrastructure. The commission’s role is to assess the public interest regarding power infrastructure, while decisions on zoning and land use for data centers remain under the jurisdiction of municipalities.